A drop in passenger numbers combined with an increase in fare dodging have been blamed for a rise in fares on the Tyne and Wear metro system.

The new fares - which came into force on Monday - see pensioners and children particularly hit.

Free school travel on public transport for children under 11 has been scrapped and the basic fare for pensioners has gone up from 30p to 50p.

The changes also affect buses and the Shields ferry, which provides a service between the north and south shore at the mouth of the River Tyne.

Revenue dip

But pressure from pensioners' groups has brought the start time of concessionary travel forward from 0930 to 0900 GMT.

Mike Parker, the Director of Nexus, which operates the Metro and the affected bus services, says the free and cheapest fares were simply not sustainable.

He said: "What we have to do is balance our books and at the moment it is costing us �23m to pay for concessionary fares for the elderly, schoolchildren and teenagers.

"We can't go into next year and increase that amount."

The Chairman of the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority, Councillor Danny Marshall, agreed fares have had to increase to get the authority's finances in order:

The move to increase fares was given the green light by the Passenger Transport Authority at a meeting in September last year.

Lower than expected passenger numbers on the new Sunderland extension line and fare dodgers have been a factor in the revenue dip.